‘7th Heaven’ Dad Stephen Collins Implicates Self in Child Molestation on Tape

He's best known as the pastor/dad from TV's '7th Heaven,' but going forward, he'll now be known as a child molester.  That's because Stephen Collins is in an obviously nightmarish divorce process right now, and his soon-to-be ex-wife taped him during a therapy session admitting to exposing himself to pre-teen girls.

This seems incredibly illegal, though I suppose that's not for me to figure out. Of course, TMZ.com -- the clearinghouse for human misery and all things sleazy -- managed to get ahold of the audio. And if the person on it is indeed Mr. Collins, he's admitted to some pretty wretched things.

It's important to note that as of this publication, no one has charged Mr. Collins with any crimes yet, though the NYPD is investigating.  It's also really hard to say how this will all pan out, as Collins hasn't responded publicly.

I don't want to sound like I'm defending the guy -- I'm certainly not if he is indeed the voice in the audio recording. But man, this was the nuclear option, wasn't it? The tape becoming public before charges have even been filed seems ... I don't know ... wrong, somehow. If the allegations are true, are these girls going to want to come forward knowing the media will descend on them? It seems like this is the act of a vengeful ex-wife -- who has every right to be angry, sure -- but who isn't thinking about the victims of these acts.  That's all I'm saying.

Anyway, that's my two cents, and I'm no expert or moral authority by any stretch.

This is just really sad, all the way around.